Keeping Up Appearances Pays

May 24, 1988|The Morning Call

To the Editor:

This is in reply to a recent letter about the slippery brick paving on the Hamilton Mall, which expressed the opinion of many other concerned citizens. Besides being slippery, hundreds of bricks have cracked and come loose, making expensive and time-consuming repair necessary. That, of course, is why they will be replaced over the next four years.

The new pavement will be mostly large concrete squares with narrow non- slippery brick accent strips. This will not only provide better traction but also will be much easier to clean and maintain.

The concern about the use of tax revenue for this project should be balanced against the fact that 17 percent of the city's tax base is in the downtown area and that 20,000 people work downtown. In addition to the residents and shoppers, all of whom generate large tax revenues through wage taxes and taxes levied on gross sales and services, property owners in the Downtown Improvement District contribute $350,000 to the operation of the downtown.

The most expensive economics that a city can make is to discontinue maintenance and capital improvement. It takes about 10 years of this tax savingsbefore you can't drive on the streets, walk on the sidewalks, sell a home or get a job. You don't have to travel very far to find examples of cities like this and we don't want Allentown to be one of them.